


Just One Year

by NoForkingClue



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, F/M, Jim tries to play matchmaker, Slow Build, Slow Burn, and fails, but not with Bones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27589469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoForkingClue/pseuds/NoForkingClue
Summary: “Everyone joins Starfleet for some reason doctor,” you said, “The captain for a sense of adventure, Spock a sense of duty.”“So why did you join?”You smiled at him over your drink.“To belong.”You thought that becoming secretary to the grumpiest doctor in the universe wouldn’t be too difficult. You didn’t realise how wrong you were.
Relationships: Leonard "Bones" McCoy/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 57





	1. Chapter 1

“Dammit Jim this better be important,” snapped Bones as he stormed into Jim’s room, “You know how busy I am at the moment.”

“Bones!” cried Jim, “Good of you to stop by. Whiskey?”

Bones looked at Jim suspiciously but sat down in a chair anyway. Jim was never this nice unless he wanted something. However, Bones also knew that Jim had managed to get a genuine bottle of whiskey on board the Enterprise and he really didn’t fancy drinking too much of his own. Perks of being friends with the captain.

“What do you want Jim?”

“Can’t I just spend some quality time with my good, but overworked, friend?”

“Jim.”

“And share a drink or two.”

“I have patients waiting for me.”

“While discussing a new policy implementation that he knows is going to annoy said friend.”

Bones froze, the whiskey glass half to his lips. He looked at Jim who was trying to look innocent but ‘innocent’ and ‘Captain James T. Kirk’ were two things that didn’t go together. Calmly he put his glass down and said,

“What policy.”

“I’ve noticing you’ve been incredibly busy recently.”

“No shit.”

“And Mr Spock had brought to my attention-“

“Whatever that green blooded hobgoblin said is-“

“Our attention,” said Jim, “That things have gotten a bit… out of hand.”

“Out of hand?” Bones’ eyes narrowed, “What are you implying.”

“In your office,” Jim said quickly, “Your literal office I mean. Things are a bit disorganised.”

“Well if the Enterprise would stop getting attacked every five minutes then maybe I’d have time to catch up on the reports.”

It wasn’t as though Bones didn’t try but recently there had been a lot more distress calls than usual. Being Starfleet’s flagship the Enterprise was usually called out to them or Jim’s great big bleeding heart led them to a planet despite orders. This meant more people in the med bay and less time to do routine paper work.

“Where’s this going?” asked Bones although he could already tell

“Starfleet has hired you a secretary.”

“Do I look like I need a secretary?”

“Unfortunately this is out of my hands,” said Jim finishing his drink, “She’ll be starting tomorrow. And Bones?”

Bones who had left his seat and was almost at the door paused and looked back.

“What Jim?”

“Try to make a good impression.”

*

You arrived at the med bay bright and early. Well, bright for the middle of space. The Enterprise monitored the day and night cycle so everyone’s body clocks wouldn’t be completely ruined. People rushed around you and didn’t take any noticed of you. You had heard that it had been unusually busy which was why you were called in to help. Suddenly a farther frazzled looking nurse walked up to you.

“What’s the issue?” she asked

“I’m here to see Dr. McCoy.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Umm no but-“

“Then I’m afraid you’re going to have to come back at another time,” she said, firmly but not unkindly, “As you can see-“

“I’m y/n l/n,” you said quickly, “I was sent by Captain Kirk. Please, I know you’re busy but that’s why he sent me.”

At the mention of the Captain’s name the nurse stood up a little straighter. She gave you a curious look and nodded.

“I’ll speak to him,” she said, “But I can’t guarantee anything. If you just wait to the side. Great, thank you.”

You pushed yourself flat against the wall as the nurse walked off. She lightly knocked on a door before it opened. You could faintly hear her talking and someone said,

“Y/n l/n? I don’t know- Oh wait,” a man sighed, “Yeah, I know who she is. Send her in.”

The nurse came out and nodded at you. Just before you walked in she whispered,

“Good luck. He’s in a particularly bad mood today.”

You nodded and looked towards the door. You raised your hand and knocked, jumping at the bark of ‘come in’. You took a deep breath and entered, not entirely sure what you had just got yourself into.


	2. Chapter 2

You were not what Bones was expecting. He was expecting someone older and sterner not someone who looked fresh out of the Academy. You gave him a nervous smile as you stood awkwardly near the door.

“Hello,” you said, “I’m-“

“I know who you are.”

“Oh, right,” you said uncertainly, “I know this-“

“I don’t need a secretary.”

“But that’s what I was hired for.”

This caused Bones to raise an eyebrow and you blushed and quickly looked away. You brushed a piece of hair behind your ear, something Bones would later learn was a nervous tick, and looked at the floor. As you raised your arm the sleeve of your uniform fell down and revealed an old fashioned analogue watch.

“An heirloom,” you said when you caught Bones staring at it, “Been in my family for God knows how long.”

“Right,” Bones quickly looked away from you, “As I said earlier, I don’t need a secretary. You can transfer back to the,” he glanced at you file he was looking at, “USS Hood. It isn’t necessary for you to be here.”

“Doctor McCoy,” you said firmly, “I’m afraid that really isn’t an option. I put in the request for this position. Do you know how many people get to transfer over to the Enterprise? It isn’t as many as you would think. Only the truly exceptional get to be on this starship. I am not about to throw away this opportunity just because you’re too stubborn to admit that you might need some help.”

You reached to brush your hair behind your ear again but quickly dropped your hand back to your lap. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath before continuing,

“I understand why you don’t want me here but I need this.”

“Alright.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t have much choice in the matter,” said Bones looking up at you before quickly looking away, “Jim hired you, not me.”

“Right,” you gave him a hopeful smile, “What do you want me to do?”

“Right now I want you to go away.”

You slumped back in your chair deflated. One step forward, two steps back.

“I just…” Bones sighed and leaned back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Need to sort out some… stuff first. Come back tomorrow, at eight.”

“Err… right. Ok.”

An awkward silence fell between the two of you before Bones sighed.

“That means you can leave.”

“Oh,” you stood up so quickly your chair almost fell to the floor, “Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Bones nodded as you finally left his office. Once he was sure you had left the medbay, and that no one else was going to bother him, he groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. What was Jim thinking? Of course he had expected you to be attractive, Jim had transferred you over to the Enterprise but he wasn’t expecting you.

You were certainly going to be trouble even if you weren’t aware of it and the large diamond ring on your finger wasn’t going to be any help.


	3. Chapter 3

You sat in the cafeteria, a cooling cup of coffee in front of you. You were looking at you PADD flicking through the photos on it. You came across a picture of you and your fiancé Peter, and smiled when you saw it. You lightly traced a finger over the photo and sighed. While this position was better paid than your last one you didn’t really like transferring ships. You hadn’t been transferred since you met Peter which was three years ago.

“Y/n? Is that you?”

You looked up sharply when you heard a familiar voice.

“Christine?” you asked, “I didn’t know you were on the Enterprise?”

Christine Chapel smiled and sat down opposite you.

“Heard you transferred over,” she said, “Thought I come and find you. How’s Doctor Grumpy?”

You and Christine had been roommates back when you were studying. The two of you tried to remain in contact but it wasn’t always easy. You both had high stress positions and-

“Y/n?”

“Oh right,” you said, “Yeah, transferred the other day. Doctor McCoy is… stressed.”

“That’s one word for it,” Christine took a sip of your coffee and winced when she realised it was cold, “So why did you become a secretary? You’re a-“

“The pay was good,” you said quickly, “Saving up for a wedding is difficult enough. Every little helps.”

“Oh yes,” Christine grabbed your hand a looked at your ring, “Congratulations. It’s a beautiful ring.”

“I know. It’s been in Peter’s family for generations. I feel lucky to be-“

A ping from your PADD distracted you and you quickly looked down. You smiled softly and said,

“Sorry, it’s Peter.”

“Oh?”

“Just got to reply to him quickly. It’s the only time he has free to talk.”

“The only time?”

“Well any other time he’s working or studying.”

“But what about when you’re working?”

“He’ll understand,” you said, “He does know about my working hours.”

“It must be hard,” said Christine with a small frown, “Being so far away from each other.”

“It is,” you said typing out a response, “But we’re making it work. Communication is key!”

You stood up and downed your coffee. You smiled at Christine and as you walked away you said,

“We should grab lunch sometime and have a proper catch up. Tell me all I need to know about the Enterprise as well as the gossip!”

You didn’t hear Christine’s response as you hurried to your room. Once you were back you sighed and kicked off your shoes and lay down on the bed. Immediately you got a call from Peter which you quickly answered.

“Hey,” he said, “How’s the Enterprise.”

“It’s amazing,” you said, “There’s nothing like it.”

“I can imagine.”

You thought you could hear a hint of bitterness in Peter’s voice but you quickly shook the thought out of your mind.

“I miss you though,” you said, “It’ll be so much better if you were here though.”

“Yeah, well, unlikely I’m going to be coming over.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“No transfers for a while,” he said, “ _You_ were the last transfer to the Enterprise.”

“Shit.”

“Apparently secretaries are in higher demand then doctors.”

“Peter-“

“I just got to make do on this ship.”

“Hun-“

“It’s just going to be so long until I can see you again,” he said sadly, “I just wish you were here with me.”

“It’s only for a year,” you said, “And we’ll have more money for a nice wedding and honeymoon. Think of the long run.”

“I guess.”

You looked at the clock.

“It’s getting late,” you said, “And I need to be up early tomorrow.”

“Ok,” said Peter, “Call you same time tomorrow.”

“I can’t. I’m going to be working.”

“Oh. But this is the only time I’m free.”

“We can call another day.”

“But I want to talk tomorrow.”

“I can’t.”

“Babe.”

“We’ll work something out,” you said, “I can’t afford to fuck up my first proper day at work.”

“Ok,” you had never heard Peter sound so sad, “I’ll call you whenever.”

“Pete-“

He hung up before you could reply. You put you PADD to the side and lay back down. You hated arguing with Peter and going to bed on a bad note but you needed to make a good impression.

After all, everything will work out in the end.


	4. Chapter 4

Your first proper day at work was best described as busy. You had been expecting a lot of paper work but not nearly as much as you were presented with. You didn’t understand Starfleet’s obsession with maintaining paper records but that was way above your pay grade. You just did as you were told and didn’t complain about the pay check.

You stood up and stretched your back wincing slightly. The first thing you had to try and sort your way through the reports. Landing reports, medical files for the whole crew, reports from when the ship was attacked, you were surprised at how many different files there were. You were also pretty sure that there were some reports from the Captain and you put them to one side for later. A knock on the door made you jump and you looked up in surprise as Bones entered and offered you a cup of coffee.

“Thought you could use this,” he explained, “Heard you’ve been in here all day.”

“Thank you doctor,” you said as you took the cup, “Yeah but I should have most of the prep done. Don’t see the need for all this paper but it could be worse.”

You sat down on the desk and took a sip of coffee and sighed in pleasure. You didn’t realise how much you needed it until now.

“So why this job?”

“Huh?”

“I doubt that many people want to be a secretary,” continued Bones as he leant against the wall, “And I know I’m not exactly the easiest person to get on with.”

“Well my previous job was very stressful,” you said, “And when I applied I didn’t think that this job would be nearly as stressful,” you took a looked at the cabinets and grimaced, “Turns out I was wrong. And besides, what’s wrong with being a secretary? I’m getting married and the pay is good and-“

Just then your PADD made a noise as a message appeared. You picked it up and sighed before putting it back down.

“Is everything-“ Bones started but was interrupted by another message.

“Yeah,” you said, “Everything’s fine. Just my fiancé, Peter. He’s wanting to know how I’m getting on. I’ll just answer him later.”

“You must miss him.”

“Miss him?” you looked at Bones with curiosity, “Yes, of course. But I guess this transfer will be a good test of our relationship. I’ve seen many couples survive long distance relationships and I’m hoping that mine and Peter’s will be one of them.”

“Hmm.”

“What?” you asked, “You don’t think so?”

“Well-“

“No,” you held up a hand interrupting him, “We are going to make this relationship work even if people like you don’t think it will or Peter doesn’t like me working away from him. And don’t worry Doctor McCoy,” your tone turned icy as you continued, “It’s only for a year and then we can both go back to our own lives. I don’t expect us to be friends but we can at least act civil towards each other, or is that too hard?”

“I don’t think so.” Replied Bones curtly

“Good,” you put you cup of coffee down, “Thank you for the drink. Now if you’ll excuse me I have work to be continuing and don’t you have patients to be seeing?”

*

Peter: Hey

Peter: I’m sorry if I upset you last night

Peter: It’s just I have so little free time

Peter: Can we talk earlier tonight? I’m on late so we can’t talk at the normal time

Peter: Seeing as you’re not replying to me I suppose you’re working.

Peter: Fine. We’ll talk later then

Peter: If you’re not too busy that is


	5. Chapter 5

It was your day off which you were thankful for. You had been working flat out and all you wanted to do was curl up and sleep. Unfortunately for you it seemed that fate had other ideas. A loud ringing pulled you out of your comfortable groan and you answered sleepily,

“Hello?”

“Y/n,” it was your mother, “You’re not up yet!”

“It’s my day off,” you said sitting up, “I wasn’t expecting you to call.”

“I thought I’d surprise you,” your mother gave you a slight smile, “It feels like it’s been ages since we talked."

“Yeah,” you said embarrassed, “I’ve been busy.”

You weren’t lying. It seemed that almost every minute of your life had been taken up with work and then with wedding planning. It was almost as though you never had a minute to yourself.”

“I miss you,” you mum said, “Even when you’re on shore leave you hardly have any time to visit.”

“Sorry,” you said, “It’s just Peter and I wanted relax together. But you’re right, I really should make some time to come and see you properly. Next time I’m on leave I promise I’ll come and visit.”

Your Mum pursed her lips and her eyes darted around. It was a sign the she was nervous and didn’t completely believe you. You took a deep breath and prepared yourself for the oncoming questioning.

“Love,” she said, “You know you can be honest with me.”

“I know that.”

“So you’d tell me if anything was wrong.”

“You’d be the first to know.”

“You are happy right?”

This question caught you off guard. You blinked in surprise then frowned slightly.

“Of course I am,” you said, “What makes you think I’m not?”

“It’s just the transfer,” your mother sighed, “The people I know always transferred to get away from their partners.”

“You think I wanted to get away from Peter?” you asked angrily

“Of course not,” your mother said quickly, “It’s just I’m concerned about your relationship that’s all. This transfer seemed very sudden and I was worried that something had happened between the two of you. If you ever need to talk about it then I’m here for you. You can always talk to me.”

“Oh yes, because your relationship with Dad ended so well.”

You had gone too far. You knew it as soon as the words had left your mouth. Your mother’s face fell then quickly hardened. You slouched down and began to regret even waking up that morning.

“That was uncalled for.”

“I’m-“

“I know things weren’t perfect between your father and I but there’s no need to go dragging up that past.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hmm,” she didn’t sound convinced, “Despite what you just said my offer still stands. If you want to talk about it then I’m here for you.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ll talk to you whenever you have the time.”

“Mum-“

You didn’t get to finish your sentence before your mother hung up. You groaned and pulled a pillow over your head. This was why you never really spoke to her that often. You would put your foot in it or she would say something to anger you. Either way meetings always ended in an argument. Maybe she was a toxic element in your life that you needed to cut out. You self-pitying time was cut short by a banging on your door.

“Open up y/n,” called Christine, “It’s your days off and I’m not going to let you spend all of it in your room. So open this door before I get Scotty to forcibly open it for me!”


End file.
